The Administrative Core provides leadership and support to promote the highest quality research in the DEARC and its impact. The goals of the Administrative Core are to facilitate interactions among projects and attain research excellence throughout the DEARC by providing clear leadership, efficient management, effective committee structure, strong administrative, fiscal and research infrastructure, and the promotion of integration and synergism. These goals are supported through 5 aims. Aim 1 provides an organizational infrastructure to facilitate attainment of Center goals and objectives through a strong Executive Committee (EC) consisting of the PI (L. Spear) and the two co-l's (T. Deak & S. Youngentob) of the Administrative Core, aided by an efficient DEARC office and administrator, capable fiscal support through the State University of New York Research Foundation (with offices at both Binghamton University [BU] and Upstate Medical University [UMU]), as well as strong institutional support and an impressive research infrastructure that includes new animal buildings on both DEARC campuses. Building on the culture of collaboration within the DEARC, Aim 2 promotes communication, facilitates interactions and encourages integration and synergisms across the DEARC through such activities as monthly meetings, mini-retreats, DEARC-sponsored colloquia, and a yearly retreat. Aims 3 and 4 are to ensure oversight, coordinate interactions among research projects and cores, promote research-supportive allocation of resources, and utilize internal and external guidance committees to ensure quality and progress of research components and cores. Day-to-day decisions will be made by the EC with frequent consultation of a Steering Committee (composed of PIs of cores and main projects) and oversight by two critical guidance committees: an Internal Advisory Board (lAB) comprised of administrators at BU and UMU, and an External Advisory Board (EAB) comprised of nationally prominent senior alcohol researchers who serve as a program advisory committee to evaluate and advise the DEARC regarding all aspects of Center functioning. Aim 5 is to encourage enrichment at all career levels, promote the recruitment of new researchers in the field of alcohol and development, and enhance outreach efforts.